WOW what a turnout!! 52 pitchers signed up for the event, and 20 of them were pitchers that had to qualify in. A handful were familiar faces that had to re-qualify because they didn't have current stats, and the qualifying rounds took from 7:30am until 9:45am. Many of the newcomers were advised to be there early - it really helped. 

The sky was overcast, but the sun came out for a few minutes in the middle of the afternoon, and sunburns were evident by the end of the day. For the first event of the year, it was great. Floyd Hix and Renee Cowan did an excellent job of organizing the event and keeping it rolling, no easy task with so many new pitchers. A special thanks goes out to Ruth Hix who sat at the table and kept track of stats all day. Another special thanks to the folks manning the grill - as we all know, the pitchers attack the refreshment stand in waves. Never once did the pitchers have to wait, they were anticipated and served promptly. Thanks to all the pitchers that came out, and we look forward to a whole lot more competition as the season rolls on.

A whole-hearted welcome goes out to the Chesapeake Horseshoe Club, who showed up with eight members. Another eight were welcomed from the Hanover County/Richmond area, and a few more pitchers that were welcomed back into the organization just because they hadn't pitched in a while. 

Hadn't pitched in a while! Clarence Dowdy hasn't pitched for 40 years. Just last month, he ran into Marty Coleman and WL Doss at the local Moose Lodge pitching shoes, and decided to give horseshoes another try. During the tournament, Marvin May circulated his scrapbook, and in it was a picture of himself, Floyd Hix and Clarence, when Clarence last pitched in Lychburg in 1962. Welcome back Clarence!

Keith Stevenson, a newcomer arriving with Glen Ritchie and Jackie Whetzel, enjoyed his the event, ending up in first place in D class. David Cowan Sr didn't just hand him the title - they ended up in a playoff for 1st place. Coming down to the last couple shoes, David just couldn't keep up. Keith ended up winning the class with 6-1. David then was 2nd and WL Doss came in 3rd.

For the first time in VaHPA recorded history, a PeeWee class was held in a sanctioned tournament, with Trey McDowell standing at the 20 foot pin line. The 5 year old pitched 150 shoes and was very proud of winning his 'very first trophy'.!! He even pitched one ringer! Rachel Cowen, 12 years old, pitched against him and won the Jr Girl top award for the event. 

In the 2nd round of B Class, Horace Phillip vs Mark Bunch ,at around shoe 30, the score was 39-27, Bunch's favor. Then Horace came on. He not only held Bunch where he was, but he advanced the score little by little. At about shoe 60, the score stood at 39-39. On that last throw, both had ringers, but Bunch got a point, winning the game. Good effort Horace, congrats to Mark for that final effort. That was an exciting game! but in the end, B Class winners were Bill Hartless - 1st undefeated with 5-0, Kara Hix - 2nd , Mark Bunch - 3rd. Kara and March tied for wins/losses, but Kara took the place by percentage with 39.8%.

Karl Hix took F Class with 5 wins, 0 losses; Tom House came in 2nd and Donny Boykin from Chesapeake came in 3rd. Karl had his work cut out for him. Tom, rusty from the past few years, and Donny, new from Chesapeake were both out to take him down. Karl's calm demeanor and perseverance won the day. 

H Class went to Thomas Hix with 4 wins, 1 loss, Richard Revell, Chesapeake 2nd, Kevin Snelgrove 3rd. Richard &Kevin were tied for wins/losses and the awards were decided by percentage. 

In the 40-Men A Class, Ricky Hall won first place, Hearl Kelley 2nd and Jackie Whetzel 3rd. David Cowen Jr, seeded with Men's A won the Jr Boy A class award of 1st place. Amy Hall won Women's A class and Renee Cowan took 2nd. 

In G Class, there was a three-way playoff for first. Elden Vannoy, Ruther Glen; Rich Sakiewicz  from the Richmond area, and Gene Webb, a new pitcher from Chesapeake; vied off for the prize. Rich ended up taking 1st with Gene coming in 2nd. Elden did his best to take down both of them, but had to let them battle it out. 

One of only several women pitchers, Betty Weakley held her own in Class E until she faced off against Sonny Higgenbothem, newcomer from the Lychburg area. The battle was stiff, but Sonny ended up in 1st place with 7-0. Betty took 2nd place with 6-1. Sonya Hix came in 3rd place. 

In C Class, Pat Snelgrove came up from 6th seed to win the class with 5 wins, 0 losses. The class was closely seeded, with Michael from Hanover County qualifying in at 40% and Pat at the bottom with an entering percentage of 34%. Floyd Hix was 2nd and Marty Coleman came in 3rd. 

We enjoyed the day immensely and look forward to seeing you all again.    Pat